A wide variety of actuating devices have been used in aerosol dispensers having tilt-actuated valves. Examples are: devices in which direct finger pressure is applied to the valve stem in a direction normal to the stem, such as the devices shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,615,597 and 2,992,760; devices having a trigger piece fixedly attached to the valve stem and designed to be laterally displaced to tilt the stem, such as the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,583,607; devices in which a trigger piece is arranged to be laterally displaced to contact and laterally displace the valve stem, such as the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,236,421; extension devices fixedly attached to the valve stem and providing a depression point laterally offset from the stem whereby the stem may be tilted when the extension device is depressed in a direction parallel to the valve stem, such as devices shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,330,447; and devices which push the stem away by sliding lateral contact on the stems, such as the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,782.
None of these devices is particularly suitable for a wall-mounted aerosol product, such as might be used for periodic discharge of aerosol air fresheners and/or disinfectants in rooms frequently subject to malodors. Indeed, many wall-mounted devices have utilized pull cords which dangle downwardly from the aerosol actuators and may be pulled to actuate the aerosol valves, which typically are actuated by axial depression of the valve stem rather than tilting thereof. Such pull-cord devices have certain drawbacks, including unsightly appearance and a tendency for the containers to be pulled from the wall.
Wall-mounted devices having tilt-actuated valves have a disadvantage relating to the direction of spray discharge. The direction of valve tilting is important because if the valve stem is tilted toward the wall the spray discharge may impinge upon the wall and cause discoloration or other problems. Therefore, a tilt-actuatable valve which is actuated by radial depression of a device to tilt the valve in the direction of radial depression is unsatisfactory. Furthermore, attempts to solve this problem by skewing the discharge orifice to offset the usual tilt have the additional disadvantage of requiring initial orientation of the device with respect to the wall, a most impractical operation.